By Akshay Bhansali

Dance music fans have been waiting for DJ/producer Wolfgang Gartner and Eve to put out their collab, "Get Em," since the twosome premiered the new single for the first time live at Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival earlier this summer.

This week, WG put out his latest album, an 11-track set called Weekend in America, which adds Jim Jones & Cam’ron, Omarion and will.i.am to his list of hip-hop collaborators. “Get Em” with Eve is the album’s latest single, and WG and Ultra are currently working on video concepts. To tide you over until then, Gartner was kind enough to invite MTV News over to his studio recently and gave us a production breakdown of the joint: drums, synths, vocals. Everything. Take a look!

Tags Eve, Wolfgang Gartner

By Uptin Saiidi

New York – Seven years ago last night, a plane crashed on a mysterious tropical island, starting the story of one of television’s biggest phenomenons, “Lost.” To help commemorate, The New York Television Festival hosted a creative keynote with co-creator and head writer Damon Lindelof, which was moderated by MTV’s own Andrew Jenks, star of “World of Jenks.”

The critically acclaimed series, which premiered to 23 million viewers in 2004, held a loyal fan base through six seasons, and Damon credits much of its success to the Internet. “I’m convinced we wouldn’t have made it past season three if the Internet didn’t exist,” he told the crowd of about 200 guests. “If a fan goes online and shoots a comment, like, ‘Oh, come on!’ there’s a chance that a writer will read that. We all read comments from fans, whether we admitted it or not.”

Realizing Internet feedback was an integral part of the success, Damon made sure to connect with the audience by going to Comic-Con and doing podcasts. “I wanted a foot in both worlds,” he said, referring to balancing his own creativity with what the audience wanted. Although he did call the audience somewhat hypocritical, saying, “They wanted to be heard, but they also didn’t want to think things were made up, they wanted to know there was some sort of master plan. There’s a huge contradiction between these two things.”

Damon also touched on his key to success as a writer in the industry. “Anyone who’s made it, has made a very bold move at some point. It’s like a double-dutch jump rope, you have to wait for the right time to get in, but when you’re in, you say, ‘This is easy.’ I know so many people in the industry who stand outside the whole time.” Read more...

Tags Lost

By Henna Kathiya

Jonah Hill's appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" was ostensibly to promote his new movie "Moneyball," but all anyone is talking about is his revelation of a bit of bad blood between himself and "Glee" star Matthew Morrison. It all went down at the FOX upfronts, where Hill was promoting a new show he co-created, which is set to air on the network later this season.

"I realized it's like high school and I'm the new kid in this FOX high school and they separate you on two sides of the room alphabetically by show," Hill said. "So I'm like the dorky new kid, I have no one to be cool with."

So while Jonah is feeling all insecure and awkward about being there in the first place, a woman at the event told Hill to stop talking even though he wasn't and in typical high school fashion, Morrison – apparently the "jock" in this situation (weird, right?) – begins to pick on the "Superbad" funnyman.

"It gets worse," Hill said. "This guy [Matthew Morrison] piggybacks on this woman calling me out. I never met this guy before in my entire life, and he is like, ‘Yeah Jonah can you stop talking for one second?'"

Apparently, Morrison's comment inspired several people to begin laughing at Hill. Read more...

Tags Glee, Jimmy Fallon, jonah-hill, matthew morrison

Tonight, a very different kind of reality singing competition debuts on the Hub. On "Majors & Minors," 12 talented young performers get the chance to be mentored by some of the biggest and most established artists in music, including Leona Lewis, Jordin Sparks, Avril Lavigne, Sean Kingston, One Republic's Ryan Tedder, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and will.i.am. The kids range in age kids ages 10-16, and though no one is ever voted off the series, one lucky kid will score a recording deal with RCA/Jive and be featured in a cross-country concert tour.

The series' first mentor is Grammy-winner Brandy, and we were lucky enough to talk to the R&B songbird about the show and even got some early news on her buzzed-about upcoming album.

"I was blown away by the idea and they are celebrating kids and their art and their journey into becoming, you know, the artists they already are within, and it just took me back to my youth, 15-years-old trying to become a great artist and I immediately wanted to get involved," Brandy told MTV News about the show. "When I met the kids I was just completely blown away, just really moved very deeply. And from there, I just wanted to stay as involved as I could because I wanted to be a part of their experience. I actually wanted to see them grow and how far they will go and how far they have come, so far, has been so amazing."

The pop star admitted that, for her, one of the reasons she was so drawn to "Majors & Minors" was because it celebrates the contestants' talent and provides constructive criticism without being overly judgmental, something many other reality competitions thrive on. It's a topic Brandy has plenty of experience with, having been a judge on "America's got Talent" and a contestant on "Dancing With The Stars."

Read on for more of our interview and for an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from "Majors & Minors." Read more...

Tags Brandy, majors & minors

By Morgan Schwartz

I love Sara Bareilles. There. I said it. And no, it’s not because I’m an a cappella nerd (even though I totally was in an a capella group all throughout college and loved every minute of it) and she’s the host of NBC’s "The Sing Off." And it’s not because she makes awesome music, like her sophomore album, Kaleidoscope Heart, which came out last year. And it’s most definitely not because her new music video for the second single off that album was directed my one of my favorite funny-men, Jonah Hill. Who am I kidding? It’s totally all of those things that make Sara Bareilles insanely amazing.

First, let’s talk about her music. Even if you don’t know Sara Bareilles by name (shame on you!), you probably know her breakout tune, "Love Song." From that first note on, Sara has continued to produce beautiful melodies whose lyrics seem to somehow ALWAYS be relatable to something I’m going through. If you don’t believe me, put on any one of her albums. Just broke up with your boyfriend? Sara will help you get through it. Annoyed with your boss? Sara will provide the soundtrack to your anger. So happy you could die? There is no doubt in my mind that Sara will have the perfect song to match your mood. And it doesn’t hurt that the voice singing those lyrics is both original and beautiful. Read more...

Tags Sara Bareilles

By Andréa Duncan-Mao

As the enigmatic leader of one of the most impactful rock acts in modern history, Kurt Cobain’s music touched a generation of fans. Just as we are moved by his dense, personal lyrics, raging guitar and outsider ethos, we are equally fascinated by his complex personality. He was a man who dreamt of fame but couldn’t cope with it, a performer who could move a crowd but couldn’t stand to be in one, someone we all heard of but never really knew.

But there was a chubby toddler with golden locks and crystal blue eyes who knew him in a way no one else would. Frances Bean Cobain, Kurt’s daughter with wife Courtney Love, was born 1992 and even as a newborn went everywhere with him. And in their interactions, we see a glimpse of Cobain as a father — patient, tender, in wonder.

In 1993, Kurt sat down with MTV to talk about his life since the explosive success of Nevermind, and brought Frances and Courtney along. As the camera rolled pre-interview, the happy — and somewhat frazzled — family were captured on tape. In this rare, unearthed footage of the Cobains, we see Courtney in a pre-Hollywood-makeover ripped dress, Kurt in the shadows, and Frances Bean, ready for her close-up at not even two years old.

Tags Courtney-Love, Nirvana

Well, the ratings are in and the much-hyped debut of Simon Cowell's latest reality singing competition "The X Factor" were … well, they were alright.

"X Factor" premiered to a decent-but-underwhelming viewership of 12.1 million, with a 4.4/12 rating in the prized 18 to 49 demographic – far less than the third season premiere of Emmy-winning sitcom "Modern Family," which pulled in 14.3 million viewers and a 6.0/15. "Factor" was the fourth most-watched show last night.

Those numbers pale in comparison to the ones Cowell and co-judge Paula Abdul's former employers at "American Idol" enjoy. Last season's debut was watched by 26.1 million people.

Did you watch "The X Factor" last night? Let us know in the comments what you thought of the show. (Ratings aside, everyone we know who tuned in seemed to really like it.) And vote in our poll of which highly rated singing competition is your favorite.

Read more...

Tags Newsroom Poll, the x factor

When we chatted up the fellas of LMFAO a while back, they were casting extras for their funny, NSFW "Sexy And I Know It" video and we wanted to know what else the Party Rockers had up their sleeves (even though they mostly never wear sleeves).

It turns out they have some big plans for the future. "It's all in the inspiration of life; everything we do in life is a representation of something we see," SkyBlu said of the music they are currently cooking up. "It's like we're news reporters."

Interesting analogy, but as a real news reporter, rarely do I see anyone doing the "wiggle" or the shuffle in my travels. But then again, I'm not hanging around with the LMFAO guys nearly enough. RedFoo added that whatever happens, happens with them. "We make stuff and then if somebody comes to mind, a female singer or a male singer or an alien," he trailed off before SkyBlu suggested a Katy Perry collabo. Read more...

Tags LMFAO

By Henna Kathiya

Who knew ice cream could be such a touchy subject? Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's ice cream definitely have a sense of humor, as they recently released their newest flavor "Schweddy Balls." The new ice cream flavor is named after a popular "Saturday Night Live" skit in which Alec Baldwin, playing the character of Pete Schweddy, makes up a fictional treat called "Schweddy Balls" for the ladies of the fictitious National Public Radio program "Delicious Dish."

But conservative group One Million Moms is not laughing and has called for a boycott of the new flavor, claiming the name to be too vulgar. Can you imagine, children going up to the counter and asking for "Schweddy Balls"? One Million Moms certainly can't! Ben & Jerry's has been accused of being insensitive to conservative sensibilities in the past, like when it released a flavor last year called Hubby Hubby (a play on Chubby Hubby) to celebrate gay marriage, which also upset One Million Moms. Read more...

Tags Alec Baldwin, ben & jerrys, Controversy

From MTV Movies Blog:

Have you ever been so relieved that no matter what else is going on in your life, no matter how hectic your day, you pause and breathe and everything is just right?

That is how I feel right now. Earlier today, Entertainment Weekly unveiled an official first look at the full cast of Tim Burton's hotly anticipated big screen take on the classic Gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows," and coming just weeks after paparazzi shots of star Johnny Depp looking ghastly and weird in heavy white makeup leaked online and sparked a massive (and generally negative) fan response, the image is a sight for sore eyes.

I grew up watching reruns of the late-60s melodrama and have been excited about this film since I first heard it was being made. The dark aesthetic that made many of Burton's best films pop made him seem like a good fit to direct for "Shadows," and the cast, from Depp as vampire Barnabas Collins to Michelle Pfeiffer as family matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and Jackie Earle Haley as groundskeeper Willie Loomis, was perfection. Read more...

Tags dark shadows, Johnny Depp